


Treading Water

by pterawaters



Series: Tumblr Prompts [17]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Multi, Polyamory, Redo of the kanima pool scene, Season/Series 02, Swimming, Triad Verse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-05
Updated: 2014-06-05
Packaged: 2018-02-03 14:01:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1747238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pterawaters/pseuds/pterawaters
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Derek and I will distract it. You call for help."</p><p>Stiles nodded and subtly started moving toward the phone. Erica swam in the other direction, telling Derek, "I never had lessons, but I always went down to the pond – you know the one in the preserve – and practiced swimming. It was so gross and so cold all the time, but I learned."</p><p>"You could've drowned," Derek replied, his weight trailing after her as she pulled him through the water. </p><p>"It didn't matter," Erica replied. "What's life without a little danger?"</p><p>She swore she felt Derek shiver in her arms.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Treading Water

**Author's Note:**

> Prompted by an Anon! "I would love to read season 2 era Derek/Stiles/Erica."
> 
> Takes place in [Triad Verse](http://triadverse.tumblr.com/post/86154454124/triad-verse-faq)!

When Erica woke up, she felt groggy, like she used to after a seizure. For a moment she wondered whether the whole werewolf thing was just some fucked-up hallucination caused by her fucked-up brain. Quickly, though, she realized that she was still in the pool, and that the lizard creature was staring at her from across the pool. Stiles and Derek were treading water in the pool, apparently safe from it.

Erica knew that she didn't have much of a chance of beating the creature on her own, without Derek's help. She still felt a little woozy from getting hit by it before, which was not a good sign. When she trained with Derek and the others, their blows healed so quickly, Erica barely even felt them. Not so with this asshole.

The creature moved first. It moved around the edge of the pool quickly, its eyes locked on her. By the time Erica got to her knees, it was already halfway to her. As quickly as she could manage, Erica did the only thing that came to mind; she got her feet under her and dove into the pool. When she surfaced, shrugging off her heavy jacket, the creature hissed at her from the side of the pool. So it was unwilling to get in the water.

Turning to face Stiles and Derek, Erica asked them, "What the hell is going on?"

Stiles spit water out of his mouth before speaking. "Can you take him?"

Erica was about to ask who she was supposed to take when she noticed that Stiles had his arm wrapped around Derek's chest and Derek, while awake, wasn't moving. Recognizing what needed to be done, Erica nodded and swam closer, putting her own arm around Derek's chest and pulling him close as she treaded water. "You know, my parents wouldn't ever let me take swimming lessons."

Stiles let out a loud breath and tipped so he was floating on his back. "You're doing great for a beginner."

Derek spit water out of his mouth before asking, "Where's your phone?"

Erica's stomach dropped. "In my jacket. At the bottom of the pool." She caught Stiles' exasperated look and winced. "I was about to get eaten!"

Stiles turned to face her, shaking his head. "I think it's after me. I saw it kill that mechanic."

"So, if we give you to it, Derek and I could make it out of this alive?" Erica said it in a mostly theoretical way, but it was fun to see Stiles' face screw up with indignation.

"You wouldn't–"

"Relax, Stiles," Derek cried. The creature hissed again and Derek dropped his voice.  "No one's getting sacrificed."

Erica switched arms and held Derek close to her chest. She whispered in Derek's ear, "You've got someone else in mind for me? I think you meant for us." Erica rubbed her nose against Derek's neck.

Derek sucked in a quick breath and ended up coughing on pool water. "Shut up, Erica."

"Shut up?" Stiles asked, turning back to face her and Derek. "What did she say? Are you going to feed me to the giant human lizard? You don't need me to hold you up now. I don't see why you wouldn't."

Rolling her eyes, Erica noticed a phone sitting on the concrete outside the pool. "Is that–"

Stiles followed her line of sight. "Yeah. I just can't get there because of Godzilla over there."

In Erica's arms, Derek snorted, almost like he was chuckling. Oh, she was totally right. Derek had the hots for Stiles. It was just one more thing she and Derek had in common now.

Erica watched the creature. It headed away from the phone, still trying to figure out how to get to them while unable to get in the water. She hissed in Stiles' direction and when he turned toward her, Erica whispered, "Derek and I will distract it. You call for help."

Stiles nodded and subtly started moving toward the phone. Erica swam in the other direction, telling Derek, "I never had lessons, but I always went down to the pond – you know the one in the preserve – and practiced swimming. It was so gross and so cold all the time, but I learned."

"You could've drowned," Derek replied, his weight trailing after her as she pulled him through the water.

"It didn't matter," Erica replied. "What's life without a little danger?"

She swore she felt Derek shiver in her arms.

Erica took a deep breath. "Hey, lizard-breath! Over here!" She pulled Derek toward the edge of the pool and along it, kicking off from the edge of the pool right before the creature got within reach. "Ha!"

Stiles held onto the edge of the pool, the phone up to his ear, seemingly unaware that the creature had its sights set on him once again. Derek called out to the lizard before Erica could, and she joined him.

The lizard turned back toward her and Derek, hesitating until Stiles pushed away from the edge and began treading water again, five feet away from the edge. "Goddammit, Scott! Pick up your phone!"

"Try again!" Derek called to Stiles as Erica pulled them back toward the center of the pool.

She noticed Stiles begin to struggle to hold himself up while dialing the phone, so Erica got over to him as quickly as she could. She held Derek up with one arm and put her other around Stiles. Stiles gave Erica a look, so she shrugged as best she could while holding two full-grown men in her arms. "Might as well use the strength I've got."

"Yeah," Stiles agreed, getting back to his phone call. It must've gone through, because Stiles cried, "The pool! Scott, the pool! … At the school! Quick!"

Erica must've been paying too much attention to Stiles because Derek made a noise of distress in his throat. Shit, she'd let him slip too far into the water. Erica used one of her legs to hike Derek back up. "Sorry."

Derek glared at her, but turned his attention to Stiles. "Is he coming?"

"Yeah," Stiles said, resting his phone arm on the top of his head. "We just have to keep treading water until he gets here."

"Assuming he doesn't end up in here with us," Erica pointed out, smirking when Stiles' jaw dropped open and Derek snorted. "Yeah, you're right. It's much cozier with the three of us."

Derek's heart skipped a beat, which Erica was totally using against him later. Stiles scoffed, but suddenly Erica could smell him over all the chlorine in the pool water, and he didn't smell quite so much like fear as he did arousal. He struggled out of Erica's grasp, but Erica couldn't help but smile. Finally, now that she wasn't handicapped by her condition anymore, Erica was going to get the attention she wanted from boys like Stiles and Derek.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked reading this, you can visit me [on tumblr](http://pterawaters.tumblr.com/).


End file.
